Cell Service Raja Ampat and Banda Sea

[scubamon]

Hi everyone,

I am going to be on the Black Manta liveaboard in April, sailing from Sorong to Ambon. I am hoping to figure out a way to be able to check in with my family in the US on occasion and I am not sure how best to do so, looking for expert advice. I know there will be limited cell signal, but I am told by the Black Manta crew there are times when there is a signal available.

Has anyone had experience in this area? I have a US # and iPhone 4S that I could try to set up with a local SIM but I am not 100% sure how or which SIM to look at. Also, not sure if I should do this in Jakarta or Sorong? I have also looked at renting a phone for the trip that has a SIM for use in Indo, but I am not sure which will have coverage in my areas and which will not.

Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated, thank you!

---Wes Scubamon

 

[barry123]

Hi
I am going to that area for 6 weeks this March and have asked a couple of the dive shops which sim card should I get. All said Telkomsel Simpati or Kartu.

I am just going to purchase a cheap cell phone when I get there. It will cost about the same as getting your cell phone unlock.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Black Manta--great boat!

Can't the Black Manta people tell you where to buy a SIM card and which one to buy? Since they do the trip regularly and presumably use their phones when a signal is available, they ought to know.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Whilst on the Dewi Nusantara, we rarely had connectivity.

 

[scubamon]

Thank you for the replies. I have been digging into this a bit more, and yes the team at Black Manta has been very helpful. I think I have decided to rent a cheap phone from this site:International Cell Phone Rental | Europe and 190 Global Countries

This comes with a SIM card that will connect to IndoSat network, Black Manta recommends IndoSat and Telkomsel, for about $50 for two weeks with enough call time for my needs given the amount of time in RA where we will likely have some sort of signal. I am meeting the boat in Sorong and they have offered to have cruise director assist in buying a different SIM in Sorong if necessary.

I was trying to figure out if I should deal with this in Jakarta or Sorong, or if I could set it up in advance. I have a Verizon iPhone 4S that I would have to unlock and find a SIM for, which seems more difficult. I may have an old phone laying around, but it would not have any active service in the US. Would it still work with the Indo SIM card even if it has no US # or service?

 

[barry123]

You would have to check which bands the cell company works on and see if your cell does the same ones. Or just buy a cheap phone for less than $50 with a sim card

 

[diversteve]

I know there will be limited cell signal, but I am told by the Black Manta crew there are times when there is a signal available.

It's more money but if you want something that actually works everywhere you should look into renting a Satellite phone. They work everywhere you can see the sky basically. Iridium seems to be the dominant technology but check with someone who knows that area as satellite coverage is essential.

https://www.satellitephonestore.com/rent/
Satellite Phone Rental | Iridium Phones from Mobal

I used to change Sim's when I traveled using an older Motorola quad-band phone. I bought a sim card from Telestial but don't recommend them as it's a call-back and didn't always work reliably. However anyone calling me could use their 800#. I was with AT&T at the time but I don't think it mattered if the phone was activated in the U.S. or not. Although mine was. My understanding is that once you pull the sim, it really doesn't matter.

Afaik a Verizon phone is least likely to work. They used to use a different technology - maybe still do?. I have an old Verizon phone that can't even be switched to someone else. - IDK about an iPhone.

 

[charlier]

Hi all. I will also join the Black Manta for the crossing trip. The cruise director, Cedric and the BM crew are fantastic. Unfortunately my wife had the cancel, so we gave up our room with double bed. I had the same question about cell and data service. In the past, I purchased a Nano Sim for my iPhone 5 using Indosat. It it hard finding the specific iPhone size SIM cards. In the past, I've cut the larger Sim with an exatoknife, so it fit. The big problem is that many old cell phones have different size cards. On thing for sure, Sorong is a tiny airport, so choices might be limited.

 

[frogfish]

I'll also be on the same trip - Looking forward to meeting you guys

 

[Tippytoes12]

We are just back from a longer Asia trip which included RA on Black Manta.....indescribably awesome!

I bought a new SIM card in Thailand and put it into my own phone. Trouble was that lots of messages an texts arrived ...but in Thai. In the end the owner of the bungalow very kindly made the call for me.Have you spoken at all to Max about this....I seem to remember that there was mention of a satellite phone on board.


Have a great trip.